Booker T. Washington Biography

"A race like an individual

lifts itself up

by lifting others up."

Washington was born in Western Virginia on Burrough's tobacco farm, in 1856. His mother was a slave of James Burroughs, and his father was a white plantation owner, but his name remains unknown. Washington worked as a house slave to the Burroughs family until 1865. After emancipation, Washington and his mother moved to Malden, West Virginia where her husband was working in the salt and coal mines. He would go to work early so that he could attend school later in the day at Hampton Institute. This education allowed Washington to get away from the forced labor, and he received a job working as a teacher. Overcoming this adversity sets Washington up to become one of the greatest African American educators.